Comments on: Today’s huge flap about organics: forget nutrients

By: Richard Schultz

Richard Schultz — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:26:08 +0000

True Organic food, esp cabbages and vegetables and well grass fed chicken and beef are 10 times better then shop rite or pathmarks crap.I bought a combo of kale cabbage , mescula, and parsley from Diamond Organics, which knocked my socks off lasted 3 times longer then big box bought, and was very filling. Grass fed beef has 70 less sat fat then corn fed cattle which stands in a cell 12″ longer n wider then the animal till it dies. Nice.Just like pond salmon sucks, Alaska Salmon is tops. I could go on and on but most people are too stupid to care. Rich Schultz Ridgewood, N.J.

By: Organic Food Fight « Lettuce Eat Kale

Organic Food Fight « Lettuce Eat Kale — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:24:31 +0000

[...] more sustainably,” writes New York University nutrition professor Marion Nestle in a recent Food Politics post, echoing the sentiment of others. “I see plenty of good reasons to buy [...]

By: A. Craig

A. Craig — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:11:47 +0000

Nestle,

I guess I’d be interested to know whether or not you’ve actually sat and read OPFA? You seem to have some awful misconceptions about what qualifies for “organic” in the United States. No hormones, herbicides, pesticides, or sewage sludge? Really? Soluble Kelp (a MAJOR organic nutrient) is full of hormones…just because they’re plant hormones doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t detrimental in excess. Pesticides? Come now…you certainly must know that “organic” doesn’t mean they don’t use pesticides. And you must know that while those pesticides must contain naturally derived ACTIVE ingredients (azidrachthins, pyrethrins), the INERTS can be anything from petroleum distillates to god knows what. (And thanks to EPA labelling standards, we probably won’t EVER know what’s in them…) Not to mention the problem large commercial “organic” operations have with remineralization of the soil…no wonder the resultant produce is less nutrient dense. As a professional in the field, I’m slightly aghast at your confusion of what qualifies as “organic” and what is truly “sustainable”. And BioSolids are the wave of the future for “organic” nutrients.

It really feels like you’re doing your readers a disservice by continuing to promulgate the idea that “organic” means “better”, when in fact, as it currently stands, it just means “different” and “more expensive”. Perhaps we need to shift the debate a little…because as it stands, your claims as to what qualifies as “organic” are NOT in-line with the regulatory standards for “organic”.

Sincerely,
Austin Craig

By: Organic Nutrition Questioned Again | Refresh

Organic Nutrition Questioned Again | Refresh — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:54:00 +0000

[...] how the OTA and many of the progressive names around the food industry lining up with them, like Marion Nestle and Sam Fromartz, can influence the debate. (photo courtesy of [...]

By: ElkHollow

ElkHollow — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:09:29 +0000

Eat & Support LOCAL! BOYCOTT CORPORATIONS. Stop supporting the bottom line of Corporates!

By: ElkHollow

ElkHollow — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:06:49 +0000

This controversy is such a joke!! If organic foods are such a bad thing, why is the Obama Family doing everything they can to grow a garden and make sure THEY get purely organic foods. They see the benefit of organics and don’t want all the garbage ~antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, irradiation, genetic modification, or sewage sludge~ either. Although I personally know the benefits, and have eaten purely organic for over a decade. If they want organics, why wouldn’t I? No, I’m certainly not an Obama-fan, but he lives one way and his govt-media talking heads promotes quite the opposite. Its clearly a case of ‘watch what he does, not what his media-controlled morons say’.

By: Daniel K Ithaca, NY

Daniel K Ithaca, NY — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:10:41 +0000

This headline is misleading in so many ways. “Organic Food No Healthier”
Well—what food, produce? If examining just the RDI nutrients of PRODUCE that is one thing, but are they including the vast amounts of phytonutrients some of which we don’t even understand how beneficial they are?
And if they are speaking of Organic meat or dairy in the UK they don’t have the GMO, rBGH/rBST, antibiotic, etc etc factory farm meat and animal breast milk like in the US to compare to the significantly different organic versions.

By: Organic Takes a Blow — Or Does It? | Refresh

Organic Takes a Blow — Or Does It? | Refresh — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:37:59 +0000

[...] how the OTA and many of the progressive names around the food industry lining up with them, like Marion Nestle and Sam Fromartz, can influence the debate. (photo courtesy of [...]

By: Organic vs. Conventional Produce Smack Down! (Poll) | Summer Tomato - Upgrade Your Healthstyle | Healthy Eating Tips

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:03:30 +0000

[...] Today’s huge flap about organics. NYU professor of nutrition, Marion Nestle, offers her usual dose of common sense: doesn’t taste matter to anyone? [...]

By: Mick Vagg

Mick Vagg — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:36:36 +0000

This issue is really about evidence vs ideology. Is it really so hard to believe that the nutrient content of the food grown ‘organically’ (whatever that is) is essentially the same as that grown ‘commercially’? Do the proponents of ‘organic’ agriculture think that regular farmers are really a bunch of dopey, ignorant and uncaring pawns of Big Pesticide ?

Like so many city dwellers, I am not an expert on agriculture, but studies like this help to define exactly where the evidence leads. So ‘organic’ proponents can make fair claims about having less pesticides etc but if they want to make claims about it being more nutritious they are going to have to come up with some substantial evidence to the contrary to this analysis, which covered all published research over a period of nearly half a century.